Floating piston pin retainer

Abstract: A piston and connecting rod assembly (10) has a floating piston pin (14) that is retained in centred assembly by a retainer clip (15) having hooked fingers (43) that lock into grooves (30) in one end (20) of a pin bore (22) and hooked stringers (35) that lock the piston pin (14) in position in the assembly (10) after installation. The clip (15) is formed of any suitable resilient material such as glass-filled thermoplastics material.

Description: This invention relates to wrist pin or piston pin joints and more particularly to piston and rod connections joined by a piston pin and including means for retaining the piston pin in the assembly, as specified in the preamble of independent claim 1 or independent claim 2. The terms wrist pin and piston pin are used interchangeably in this document as meaning the same thing. It is known in the art relating to engines, compressors and the like to connect a reciprocable piston with the small end of a connecting rod by a wrist pin. The wrist pin may be pressed or otherwise retained in a transverse bore of either the piston or the rod or it may be of the "full-floating" type. In the latter case some form of retainer is used to prevent the pin from sliding out of the bore and scoring the wall of the associated cylinder. In current automotive engine practice where floating pins are used, it is common to provide annular spring clips snapped into grooves on either end of the piston bore to retain the piston pin in the piston-connecting rod assembly (US-A-5 111 737). A piston and connecting rod assembly according to the present invention is characterised by the features specified in the characterising portion of independent claim 1 or independent claim 2. The present invention provides an improved piston pin retainer in the form of a resilient and preferably non-metallic clip that is retained in added grooves of the piston adjacent the piston pin bore and then retains the piston pin upon its installation in the aligned bores of the piston and connecting rod. These and other features of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partially-exploded pictorial view of a piston-connecting rod assembly having a piston pin joint and retaining means according to the present invention; and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2, showing the assembled piston pin joint of Figure 1. Referring now to the drawings in detail, numeral 10 generally indicates a piston and connecting rod assembly including a piston 11 and a connecting rod 12 connected together by a wrist pin, ie, a piston pin 14 retained in the assembly by a retainer clip 15. The piston 11 is of generally conventional automotive construction and includes a head, crown portion 16 including a surrounding ring belt 18. A skirt 19 extends below the ring belt (the piston 11 being shown inverted in Figure 1) and includes opposed flats 20 which define opposite ends of a transverse bore 22 extending laterally through the piston 11. Internally, the bore extends through opposed bosses 23 of the piston 11 and has an interrupted portion 24 centrally of the piston where the bosses 23 are spaced apart and a pin end, ie, a small end 26 of the connecting rod 12 is received between them. The connecting rod 12 has a pin opening 27 in the form of a bore through the small end 26 which aligns with and forms an extension of the piston bore 22 to receive the piston pin 14. The small end 26 has generally flat opposite sides 28 which engage the inner ends of the piston bosses 23 to centre the connecting rod in the piston. One of the piston bosses 23 has a pair of opposed slots in the form of grooves 30 extending axially alongside the bore 22 from the outer flat 20 to an inner end of the respective boss 23 adjacent the interrupted portion 24 of the bore. Adjacent the inner end, the grooves 30 are made deeper at 31 by cutting away the inner end of the boss 23 outwards of the respective grooves 30 to provide faces 32 perpendicular to the pin axis. The retainer clip 15 comprises a generally flat body 34 formed from a suitable high-temperature resilient material. A preferred example at present is a 35% glass-reinforced aromatic nylon thermoplastic composite material capable of resisting exposure to oil in 300°C temperatures. Metal, fibre or other composite materials might also be used. The body 34 includes a pair of axially-extending, spaced parallel stringers 35 having base ends 36 and head ends 38. The stringers are centrally interconnected by a bridge 39. At the head ends 38 of the stringers 35 are outwardly-projecting hooks 40 having backwardly-angled end ramps 41. At the base ends 36 of the stringers 35 radial arms 42 extend outward from the stringers 35. From the radial arms 42, a pair of fingers 43 extend, one from each arm 42, spaced from and parallel to one another and to the adjacent stringers 35. The fingers 43 extend inward to about the length of the associated piston boss 23, and each finger 43 has at its inner end an outwardly-projecting hook 44 having a backwardly-angled end ramp 46. The piston pin 14 is a cylindrical member having an axial bore 47 therethrough and generally flat annular ends 48. The outer surface is finished as a bearing journal surface for loose fitting in the piston bore 22 and the associated pin opening 27 of the connecting rod 12. With an aluminium piston, the pin 14 directly engages the finished bore. If the connecting rod is formed from iron or steel, it is common to provide a bushing 50 in the pin opening 27 to engage the pin 14 and act as an extension of the piston bore 22. The piston pin 14 is of the floating type rotatable in the piston bore 22 and the bushing 50 of the connecting rod and so a means for retaining the pin in its installed location is required. This function is provided by the retainer clip 15. Assembly of the piston connecting rod assembly is as follows. The small end 26 of a connecting rod 12 is inserted into a piston 11 with the pin opening 27 and/or bushing 50 aligned with the transverse bore 22 of the piston 11 and in the interrupted portion 24 between the piston bosses 23. The retainer clip 15 is then inserted onto the bore 22 and through the connecting rod pin opening 27. The fingers 43 extend into the grooves 30 on either side of the bore and the radial arms 42 engage the flat 20 on one end of the piston bore 22. The hooks 44 on the end of the fingers 43 snap into the deeper portions 31 of the grooves 30 and engage the faces 32 to retain the clip in the piston bore 22. The piston pin 14 is then installed in the piston bore 22 and the connecting rod pin opening 27. This requires pushing the pin end 48 against the end ramps 41 of the retainer hooks 40 which causes the head ends 38 of the stringers 35 to cam inwardly so that the hooks 40 can pass within the bore 47 of the piston pin 14. The pin 14 is then slid over the stringers 35 and into the extended bore 22, 27 of the piston and connecting rod until one pin end 48 engages the radial arms 42 at the base end of the retainer clip 15. At this point, the hooks 40 extend beyond the other end 48 of the pin 14 so that the stringer ends 38 spring outward and the hooks 40 engage the other end 48 of the pin, locking it in its centred position in the piston bore 22 and retaining the piston connecting rod assembly 10 together. The assembly 10 is then complete as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Installation of the piston pin 14 also prevents the fingers 43 from being flexed inward and so positively maintains the hooks 44 engaged with the faces 32 and prevents the retainer clip from disengaging from the piston as long as the pin 14 is installed. When it is desired to separate the assembly components, the process is reversed. A pair of pliers or another suitable tool is used against the end ramps 41 to force the head ends 38 of the stringers inward so that the hooks 40 disengage from the pin end 48 and allow the piston pin 14 to be removed from the assembly. A similar tool engaging the end ramps 46 is then used to urge the fingers 43 inward and thus disconnect the hooks 44 from the respective faces 32 so that the retainer clip 15 can be removed from the grooves 30 adjacent the piston bore 22. The connecting rod 12 may then be removed from the piston 11 and the parts are retained and may be re-used upon re-assembly. Whilst the illustrated embodiment involves a retainer clip having a flat body having a pair of stringers interconnected between their ends and a radial arm and locking finger for each stringer, it is apparent that alternative embodiments could also be provided having similar characteristics. For example, a simplified clip could be made with only a single stringer, radial arm and locking finger. Optionally, a second stringer (without hook or radial arm) connected to the first by a bridge or the like could be added to span the pin bore and urge the first stringer into locking engagement with the pin end. Alternatively, the body could have a tubular form with slots separating it into two or more stringers with a radial base and fingers extending from the base. Whilst the invention has been described by reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous changes could be made to the specific structure of the components disclosed within the scope of the claimed invention. It is therefore intended that the scope of the present invention should not be limited solely to the embodiments described but to the scope permitted by the language of the following claims.

Claims: A piston and connecting rod assembly (10) comprising a piston (11) defining a transverse wrist pin bore (22) with an interrupted portion (24) therein, a connecting rod (12) having a pin end (26) receivable in the piston (11) inwardly adjacent the interrupted portion (24) and a pin opening (27) connecting with and forming an extension of the bore (22), a cylindrical wrist pin (14) and a retainer clip (15), the wrist pin (14) being received in the extended pin bore (22) including the connecting rod (12) to retain the piston (11) and the rod (12) together, characterised in that the piston (11) contains a pair of grooves (30) extending axially in the piston (11) alongside the bore (22) from an outer end (20) thereof to the interrupted portion (24) spaced inwards from the end (20); the retainer clip (15) comprises a body (34) including a pair of axially-extending spaced parallel stringers (35) which have base and head ends (36,38) and are connected intermediate the ends by a bridge (39), the stringers (35) having at their head ends (38) outwardly-projecting hooks (40) having backwardly-angled end ramps (41), the stringers (35) having at their base ends (36) radial arms (42) engageable with the piston (11) adjacent the bore outer end (20), and a pair of fingers (43), one extending from each radial arm (42), spaced from and parallel to one another and the adjacent stringers (35), each finger (43) having an inner end with an outwardly-projecting hook (44) having a backwardly-angled end ramp (46); the clip (15) is received in the piston (11) with the radial arms (42) engaging the outer end (20), the stringers (35) extending through the extended bore (22) including the connecting rod (12), and the fingers (43) lying within the grooves (30) with the finger hooks (44) engaging faces (32) in the piston (11) to retain the clip (15) in the pin bore (22); the cylindrical wrist pin (14) has an axial bore (47) therethrough and annular ends (48), the pin (14) being retained by the clip (15) within the pin bore (22) by the projecting hooks (40) of the stringers (35) engaging one annular end (48) of the wrist pin (14); the head ends (38) of the stringers (35) extending from the bridge (39) are resiliently urged outwards to retain the pin (14) and are movable inwards by engagement of the stringer end ramps (41) by an annular end (48) of the pin (14) to allow inward flexing of the stringers (35) and installation of the wrist pin (14) thereon, and the fingers (43) are resiliently urged outwards to retain the clip (15) in the pin bore (22) during handling of the assembly (10), the fingers (43) being locked in an installed position in the grooves (30) by the pin (14), the fingers (43) being capable of flexing inwardly during installation of the clip (15) in the piston (11) to allow the finger hooks (44) to enter the grooves (30) and to engage the faces (32) in the piston (11). A piston and connecting rod assembly (10) comprising a piston (11) defining a transverse wrist pin bore (22) with an interrupted portion (24) therein, a connecting rod (12) having a pin end (26) receivable in the piston (11) inwardly adjacent the interrupted portion (24) and a pin opening (27) connecting with and forming an extension of the bore (22), a cylindrical wrist pin (14) in the bore (22) which retains the piston (11) and the connecting rod (12) together, and a retainer clip (15), characterised in that there is at least one groove (30) extending axially in the piston (11) alongside the bore (22) from an outer end (20) thereof to the interrupted portion (24) spaced inwards from the end (20); the retainer clip (15) comprises a body (34) including at least one axially-extending spaced parallel stringer (35) having base and head ends (36,38), the stringer (35) having at its head end (38) an outwardly-projecting hook (40) having a backwardly-angled end ramp (41), the stringer (35) having at its base end (36) a radial arm (42) engageable with the piston (11) adjacent the bore outer end (20), and a finger (43) extending from the radial arm (42) which is spaced from and is parallel to the adjacent stringer (35), each finger (43) having an inner end with an outwardly-projecting hook (44) having a backwardly-angled end ramp (46); the clip (15) is received in the piston (11) with the radial arm (42) engaging the outer end (20), the stringer (35) extending through the extended bore (22) including the connecting rod (12), and the finger (43) lying within the groove (30) with the finger hook (44) engaging a face (32) in the piston (11) to retain the clip (15) in the pin bore (22); the cylindrical wrist pin (14) has an axial bore (47) therethrough and annular ends (48), the pin (14) being retained by the clip (15) within the pin bore (22) by the projecting hook (40) of the stringer (35) engaging one annular end (48) of the wrist pin (14), the head end (38) of the stringer (35) is resiliently urged outwards to retain the pin (14) and is movable inwards by engagement of the stringer end ramp (41) by an annular end (48) of the pin (14) to allow inward flexing of the stringer (35) and installation of the wrist pin (14) thereon, and the finger (43) is resiliently urged outwards to retain the clip (15) in the pin bore (22) during handling of the assembly (10), the finger (43) being locked in an installed position in the groove (30) by the pin (14), the finger (43) being capable of flexing inwardly during installation of the clip (15) in the piston (11) to allow the finger hook (44) to enter the groove (30) and to engage the face (32) in the piston (11). A piston and connecting rod assembly (10) according to claim 2, in which the number of stringers (35) is at least two. A piston and connecting rod assembly (10) according to claim 3, in which the number of fingers (43) and associated piston grooves (30) is equal to the number of stringers (35). A retainer clip (15) for use in a piston and connecting rod assembly (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the clip (15) comprises a body (34) including at least one axially-extending spaced parallel stringer (35) having base and head ends (36,38), the stringer (35) having at its head end (38) an outwardly-projecting hook (40) having a backwardly-angled end ramp (41), the stringer (35) having at its base end (36) a radial arm (42) engageable with the piston (11) adjacent the bore outer end (20), and a finger (43) extending from the radial arm (42) which is spaced from and is parallel to the adjacent stringer (35), each finger (43) having an inner end with an outwardly-projecting hook (44) having a backwardly-angled end ramp (46). A retainer clip (15) according to claim 5, in which the body (34) is of a generally flat configuration and includes a pair of stringers (35) interconnected between their ends (36,38) and with a radial arm (42) for each stringer (35) and a finger (43) extending from each radial arm (42), the fingers (43) being spaced from and parallel to one another and to the stringers (35).

Inventors: CLARK TERRY L, HALKA THOMAS GEORGE, CLARK, TERRY L., HALKA, THOMAS GEORGE
Applicants: GEN MOTORS CORP, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: F16J1
IPC codes: F16J1